We love our pets and when their health is in dire straights we can spend a lot of money on surgery, expensive medications, or other veterinary expenses. Sure you can get pet insurance but as we've pointed out before it's better to self-insure by creating a pet emergency fund.

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Personal finance weblog Free Money Finance argues that you should not use your existing emergency fund for pet health costs as it leaves you exposed to any other calamity that hits while you're rebuilding from vet bills that can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The source link below goes into detailed case studies where a few unlucky folk managed to go bankrupt caring for ailing pets. Their advice is that before adopting any new pets you need to have your personal emergency fund in place as well as a pet related emergency fund.

Of course, not everyone can throw down the suggested $2,000 pet emergency fund in the source link but it would be prudent to set aside a savings account for your pet expenses. Many pet insurance policies cost on average one dollar per day so a reasonable start might be the cost of a routine vet checkup and add in thirty bucks a month until you reach your goal. Photo by Todd Huffman